Starting next month, I am helping a work buddy write his memoirs about leaving Rwanda, during the 1994 war. I will have my questions, What questions would you like to ask? If any duplication, please excuse, I am updating the questions constantly and please keep them coming. Thank you again!

These are some of the questions I have so far:

1. What was the greatest influence that gave him hope?

2. At what point in his life did he know he was going to make the attempt to escape?

3. Did he ever have doubt and changed his mind?

4. What was his first ‘harsh’ encounter?

5. Who helped him along the way?

6. How did he survive?

7. Where in Rwanda did he live?

8. Does he have any regrets?

9. Can he ever go back to Rwanda?

10. Which countries did he escape through, and how safe were these places?

11. How many hours/days/months did it take to get out?

12. Did he tell anyone and did they threaten to betray him?

13. How old was he when the troubles started and how old was he when he left?

14. Was he captured at anytime?

15. Was he ever interrogated/tortured?

16. Does it haunt him – if so what and how?

17. Reflecting on the life he had then, how has his life changed now or are there still some things that he has kept the same?

18. . I’d like to know more about how the country was divided into the two tribes, Tutsi and Hutu. I heard that it was arbitrary, and sometimes voluntary, is this true?

19. What are his plans for the future?

20. Did he bring/come with his family or alone?

21. What obstacles did he face when he tried to leave to come to the USA (or, did he)?

22. How can people in the USA help others who have to remain behind?

23. Does he feel safe as a Rwandan living abroad?

24. What were the main warning signs of danger he noticed?

25 What were some of the conversations he had with his peers about what was happening?

26. Did religious organizations help the refugees escape and are there still religious organizations helping twenty years later?

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About tucsonmike

I am originally from Brooklyn, New York and now live in Tucson, Arizona. I have discovered a passion for writing.
I have five books out now, with a sixth on the way. Take a look @ my book list:
The Search for Livingstone
An Affair of the Heart
The Search for Otzi
Griffith Justice in Space.
Moriarty The Life and Times of a Criminal Genius
Available now on Smashwords - Amazon and Barnes and Noble
As to not bore my public with just "Buy my book," I am also interested in baseball, the outdoors, art, architecture, technology, the human mind and DNA. I learned Ashkenazi Jews, of which I am one, have to lowest rate of Alzheimer's in the world. Therefore, I treat my brain as a muscle needing a workout. I enjoy good food, flirtation, beautiful women (I am happily married for thirty years), so just flirting ;) I was considered autistic when I was young, trying to figure out if I have a mild form of Aspergers and learning from that. That is for future posts. You can also see I love history. Enjoy my sarcastic silly look at the world, and making History more interesting than a textbook.

7 Responses to Writing a Book about Rwanda

What are his plans for the future?
Did he bring/come with his family or alone?
What obstacles did he face when he tried to leave to come to the USA (or, did he)?
How can people in the USA help others who have to remain behind?

Does he feel safe as a Rwandan living abroad? (it may surprise many, but the Rwandan intelligence services are far reaching and the UK, South African and US governments have had to warn Rwandans living in their countries of imminent plots to their lives by the Rwandan secret services. Rwandan refugees with any political inclination are also not always safe in neighboring countries such as Uganda).
Was there a defining moment that made it clear he had to escape?
What were the main warning signs of danger he noticed?
What were some of the conversations he had with his peers about what was happening?